Safety valve apparatus

ABSTRACT

A safety valve apparatus is arranged on a water inlet of a vapor heater and comprises a cover, a clutch unit and a resilient unit. The clutch unit comprises an upper disk and a stage detachably assembled with the upper disk. The resilient unit is arranged between the cover and the upper disk such that the upper disk is normally rotated with the cover. The upper disk has a downward extending cylinder looped by a spring and having a movable cap on one distal end thereof. The movable cap normally seals an outlet below the stage by the resilient force of the spring.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates to a safety valve apparatus, especially to a safety valve apparatus arranged on water inlet of a vapor heater to enhance safety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] The vapor heater is extensively used in sterilization pot or vapor cleaner to generate vapor for cleaning and sterilization.

[0003]FIG. 1 shows a prior art vapor heater for a vapor cleaner. The vapor heater comprises a main body 1 a with a water tank 10 a therein, a water inlet 11 a communicated with the water tank 10 a and used to introduce water into the water tank 10 a, a heater 12 a below the water tank 10 a and heating the water in the water tank 10 a to generate vapor. The vapor is emitted from a nozzle 13 a atop the water tank 10 a and the nozzle 13 a is connected to corresponding tube and brush (not shown) for cleaning and sterilization task such as cleaning of grease.

[0004] The vapor heater has a leakage valve 14 a atop the water inlet 11 a to leak excessive vapor in the water tank 10 a and enhance safety.

[0005] Even the excessive vapor in the water tank 10 a can be leaked through the leakage valve 14 a; the water in the water tank 10 a is still heated by the heater 12 a. At this time, the user may not be aware of the excessive vapor and open a water lid 15 a atop the water inlet 11 a. Therefore, the excessive vapor may be sprayed from the water inlet 11 a and injure the user. When the vapor heater is used for a vapor cleaner and the vapor cleaner is placed on ground, the excessive vapor may be sprayed from the water inlet 11 a and injure children once the water lid 15 a is occasionally opened.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0006] It is the object of the present invention to provide a safety valve apparatus arranged on water inlet of a vapor heater, which uses principle similar to clutch device such that the cover can be rotated to remove when the vapor pressure is small and the cover cannot be rotated to remove when the vapor pressure is excessive.

[0007] To achieve above object, the present invention provides a safety valve apparatus arranged on a water inlet of a vapor heater and comprising a cover, a clutch unit and a resilient unit. The clutch unit comprises an upper disk and a stage detachably assembled with the upper disk. The resilient unit is arranged between the cover and the upper disk such that the upper disk is normally rotated with the cover. The upper disk has a downward extending cylinder looped by a spring and having a movable cap on one distal end thereof. The movable cap normally seals an outlet below the stage by the resilient force of the spring. When the vapor pressure is excessive, the upper disk and the movable cap are pushed upward such that the cover cannot be rotated to remove.

[0008] The various objects and advantages of the present invention will be more readily understood from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the appended drawing, in which:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING

[0009]FIG. 1 shows a sectional view of prior art vapor heater;

[0010]FIG. 2 shows an exploded view of the present invention;

[0011]FIG. 3 shows a top view of the present invention;

[0012]FIG. 4 shows a sectional view along line 4-4 in FIG. 3 when no vapor is present;

[0013]FIG. 5 shows a sectional view along line 4-4 in FIG. 3 when the upper disk begins to be detached from the stage;

[0014]FIG. 6 shows a sectional view along line 4-4 in FIG. 3 when the upper disk is detached from the stage;

[0015]FIG. 7 shows a sectional view along line 4-4 in FIG. 3 when the vapor is leaked;

[0016]FIG. 8 shows a sectional view along line 6-6 in FIG. 3 when the vapor is leaked; and

[0017]FIG. 9 is a sectional view showing the inventive safety valve apparatus arranged on a vapor heater.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0018]FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 show the exploded view, the top view and the sectional view of the present invention, respectively. The safety valve apparatus of the present invention comprises a cover 1, a clutch unit 2 and a resilient unit 3.

[0019] The cover 1 has an opened bottom end, an annulus wall 10 on a top inner side thereof and a plurality of posts 12 around the annulus wall 10 and screwed to corresponding screw 11.

[0020] The clutch unit 2 comprises an upper disk 20, a clamping member 21, a spring 22, a stage 23 and a movable cap 24. The upper disk 20 has a convex topside and is movably arranged into the annulus wall 10. The upper disk 20 can be rotated with the cover 1. The resilient unit 3 is arranged between the cover 1 and the upper disk 20 and can be, for example, a cone-shaped spring. The resilient unit 3 is collapsed when the upper disk 20 is fit into the annulus wall 10.

[0021] The upper disk 20 has a discal bottom side and has a plurality of bumps 25 on the discal bottom side and corresponding to the topside of the stage 23. The upper disk 20 is pushed downward by the resilient unit 3 and engaged with the stage 23. The discal bottom side of the upper disk 20 can accommodate the clamping member 21. The upper disk 20 has a cylinder 26 extending downward from bottom center thereof, and the clamping member 21, the spring 22, the stage 23 and the movable cap 24 are in turn mounted on the cylinder 26.

[0022] The clamping member 21 is locked to topside of the stage 23 and abuts to one end of the spring 22 such that the spring 22 is mounted on the cylinder 26. The clamping member 21 has a plurality of slits 27 on lateral side thereof and a plurality of openings 28 on topside thereof to leak vapor outside.

[0023] The spring 22 is a compressed spring and has one end abutting the bottom of the clamping member 21 and another end abutting the movable cap 24 when it is mounted on the cylinder 26.

[0024] The stage 23 has a plurality of dents 29 on top end thereof and arranged in annulus pattern. The dents 29 are corresponding to the bumps 25 whereby the stage 23 is assembled or detached with the upper disk 20.

[0025] The stage 23 has an annulus flange 30 on outer surface thereof, whereby the screws 11 can clamp the stage 23 to bottom of the cover when the screws 11 are screwed into the posts 12.

[0026] The stage 23 has inner thread 31 on inner bottom surface thereof such that the stage 23 can be screwed to a water inlet 40 of a heater 4, as shown in FIG. 9. The stage 23 has an outlet 32, which is sealed by the movable cap 24 in normal state.

[0027] The movable cap 24 is arranged at distal end of the cylinder 26 and is pushed by the spring 22 to seal the outlet 32. The movable cap 24 is clamped to the cylinder 26 by a connecting member 33. The movable cap 24 is provided with a leakproof washer 34 to tightly seal the outlet 32. The connecting member 33, for example, can be a screw. Moreover, the connecting member 33 can also fix a leakproof washer 35 to seal the movable cap 24 and the cylinder 26.

[0028] With reference now to FIGS. 3, 4 and 9, when there is no water or vapor in the water tank 41 of the vapor heater 4, the stage 23 screwed to the water inlet 40 is still engaged with the upper disk 20. Therefore, the user can rotate the cover 1 to remove the cover 1 and the clutch unit 2 from the water inlet 40. At this time, vapor is not generated and the risk of injure is reduced.

[0029] With reference now to FIGS. 3, 5, 6 and 9, when the force due to the vapor pressure in the water tank 41 exceeds the resilient force of the resilient unit 3, the upper disk 20 is pushed upward and detached from the stage 23. The rotation of the cover 1 will move the screw 11 around the flange 30 of the stage 23 and the stage 23 will not be rotated. Therefore, the stage 23 will not be detached from the water inlet 40. Therefore, the water inlet 40 will not be exposed.

[0030] With reference now to FIGS. 3, 7, 8 and 9, when the force due to the vapor pressure in the water tank 41 exceeds the resilient force of the spring 22, the movable cap 24 no linger seals the outlet 32 of the stage 23. The excessive vapor in the water tank 41 is leaked through the outlet 32, the gap between the stage 23 and the movable cap 24, and to the slits 27 and the openings 28. Therefore, the excessive vapor in the water tank 41 can be leaked.

[0031] To sum up, the present invention uses a clutch unit 2 to control the removal of the cover 1 in response to the amount of the vapor. Moreover, the discrimination of vapor pressure can be achieved by the resilient force of the resilient unit 3 and the spring 22. Therefore, the excessive vapor in the water tank 41 can be safely leaked.

[0032] Although the present invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiment thereof, it will be understood that the invention is not limited to the details thereof. Various substitutions and modifications have suggested in the foregoing description, and other will occur to those of ordinary skill in the art. Therefore, all such substitutions and modifications are intended to be embraced within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. 

I claim;
 1. A safety valve apparatus arranged on a water inlet of a vapor heater and comprising a cover; a clutch unit having an upper disk and a stage detachably assembled with the upper disk, the upper disk having a top portion movably assembled with the cover and the upper disk being rotated with the cover, the upper disk having a cylinder downward extending and placed atop the stage, the cylinder being looped by a spring and having a movable cap on one distal end thereof, the stage having a lower portion screwed with the water inlet of the vapor heater; and a resilient unit arranged between the upper disk of the clutch unit and the cover, the upper disk of the clutch unit being assembled to the stage by resilient force of the resilient unit; when a vapor is generated in the vapor heater and has a pressure exceeding a threshold value, the upper disk and the movable cap are moved upward and the stage can not be jointly rotated with the cover, whereby the vapor can be prevented from spraying out and can be safely leaked.
 2. The safety valve apparatus as in claim 1, wherein the cover has an opened bottom end and an annulus wall on a top inner side thereof, the upper disk has a convex topside and is movably arranged into the annulus wall.
 3. The safety valve apparatus as in claim 1, wherein the cover has a plurality of posts and the stage has an annulus flange on outer surface thereof, a plurality of screws are used to clamp the stage to bottom of the cover when the screws are screwed into the posts.
 4. The safety valve apparatus as in claim 1, wherein the clutch unit further has a clamping member on the stage and having a plurality of slits and a plurality of openings.
 5. The safety valve apparatus as in claim 1, wherein the upper disk has a plurality of bumps on the bottom side thereof and the stage has a plurality of dents on top end thereof and arranged in annulus pattern, the dents are corresponding to the bumps whereby the stage can be assembled or detached with the upper disk.
 6. The safety valve apparatus as in claim 1, wherein the stage has an outlet on bottom thereof and the outlet is normally sealed by the movable cap due to resilient force of the spring.
 7. The safety valve apparatus as in claim 1, wherein the stage has inner thread on inner bottom surface thereof such that the stage can be screwed to the water inlet of the heater.
 8. The safety valve apparatus as in claim 1, wherein the spring is a compressed spring.
 9. The safety valve apparatus as in claim 1, wherein the movable cap is fixed to the cylinder by a connecting member.
 10. The safety valve apparatus as in claim 1, wherein the resilient unit is a cone-shaped spring. 